Dark Streets (2008)

User Rating:

4.4/10   

Director:

Rachel Samuels

Writers (WGA):

Wallace King (screenplay)
Glenn M. Stewart (play)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Music, Passion, Betrayal. Welcome to the Blues.

Plot:

The owner of a 1930s nightclub loses control of his life amid love triangles and too much debt. |

Plot Keywords:

Based On Play

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Gabriel Mann	...	Chaz
Bijou Phillips	...	Crystal
Izabella Miko	...	Madelaine
Elias Koteas	...	Lieutenant
Jarreth J. Merz	...	Pale Man
Michael Fairman	...	Nathaniel
Toledo Diamond	...	Prince
Jordi Caballero	...	Slim
Tracy Phillips	...	Rose
Mike Muscat	...	Guard
Kimberly Sanders	...	Ballroom Dancer
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
David Aldridge	...	VIP Dinner Guest
Noel Arthur	...	EMT
Sybil Azur	...	Lilly
Marina Benedict	...	Dancer
Luna Rocio Cantale	...	Cigarrete girl
Gigi Chavoshi	...	Dancer
Samuel Bliss Cooper	...	Delivery Man
Pat Crawford Brown	...	Delores
Palmer Davis	...	Darlene
Henriette Dyer	...	Dancer
Sharon Ferguson	...	Dancer
Sharon Ferrol-Young	...	Dancer, Associate Choreographer
Roosevelt Flenoury	...	Dancer
Keith Glover	...	Plant Guard
Gigi Hunter	...	Dancer
Diana Kyle	...	Woman in Feathered Cape
Sebastian Leger	...	Musician
Alexandra Mann	...	Lorna
Michele Martinez	...	Dancer
Jaayda McClanahan	...	Dancer
Howard S. Miller	...	Frank
James Otis	...	Tommy
Matt O'Toole	...	Harry
Paul Palo	...	Drug Dealer
F. William Parker	...	Man in Overalls
Vanessa Peters	...	Woman at Table
Bashar Rahal	...	Bartender
Liz Ramos	...	Dancer
Ken Rosier	...	Governor
Lauri Serene	...	Dancer
Carolyn Seymour	...	Gloria
Chip Sickler	...	Man inTop Hat
Eve Sigall	...	Neighbor
John Solari	...	The Goon
Adriana Souza	...	Dancer
Christie Stover	...	Dancer
Brian Toth	...	Transvestite
Alexi Wasser	...	Claudia
Emily Williams	...	Dancer
Tara Wilson	...	Dancer
Keith Young	...	Choreographer

MPAA:

Rated R for some sexual content, drug use and brief violent images.

Runtime:

83 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (35 mm version) | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R

Filming Locations:

Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Capture Film International

Outstanding blues and swing, arresting visuals, bad screenplay

If you are a fan of Salomon Burke, Etta James, Dr. John, or just love blues and swing, "Dark Streets" would appear to be dream come true. In this tale of a doomed 1930s rich boy turned night club owner, even actresses Bijou Phillips and Izabella Miko hold their own as club singers delivering their songs with plenty of gusto and sex-appeal while the dancers and music scorch the screen. But the music and club act scenes cannot hide the movie's inept screenplay.

Besides the music, the cinematography is also stunning creating the noirest of atmospheres in the middle of the Great Depression. Murderous dark streets, threatening characters, a decadent night club, presented in rich palette of dark hues and swirling camera work. Unfortunately, soon this becomes irrelevant when the plot fails to deliver.

The story borrows heavily from "Chinatown" and 1940s/1950s film noirs, involving electrical power, greed, dissipation, betrayal, and murder. In able hands it could have been a compelling moral tale, but this poorly written movie lacks the required tension to maintain interest resorting to noir clichés (femme fatale) and contrived situations (heartbreak leads to cocaine) with subplots and characters that go nowhere. The dialogue attempts to generate some sparks here and there but the results are noir light - even Bogart and Bacall would have come out flat delivering the lines. To make matters worse, the main character is an uninteresting weakling who does not inspire much sympathy played by Gabriel Mann as if sleepwalking. Parts of the plot are ludicrous: a corrupt police lieutenant who wears a metal chest plate, a large amount of money that is never seeing again, a shrewd hostile governor set up having sex at the club, characters murdered for no reason, etc.

If you like bluesy music, Busby Berkeley, a 1930s noir atmosphere and flashy camera work, you should enjoy some of this movie. Alas, "Dark Dreams" is neither "Chicago" nor "Chinatown" and while the musical acts sizzle the rest of the movie fizzles. If one would be able to only listen to the music with the dialogue voices turn off, it would be perfect.